Tag Archives: California

An iconic landmark on the Long Beach waterfront since her arrival in 1967, the RMS Queen Mary is undoubtedly one of the world’s last, grand, old trans-Atlantic ocean liners. While initially built to ferry passengers across the Atlantic, before the onset of air travel, she also spent the war years as a troop carrier. As a passenger liner, she carried multiple classes of passengers, from those expecting the ultimate luxury experience, to steerage class that slept in multi-bunk dormitories.

On October 31st 1967, the venerable grand old lady of the Cunard fleet, the SS Queen Mary, departed Southampton on her final voyage. She arrived in Long Beach, California on December 9th 1967, where she remains to this day. For almost 50 years this grand old liner, has remained in Long Beach, as a functioning hotel, with multiple restaurants and attractions.

Considering the number of times we have visited SoCal, and my many trips into the adjacent San Pedro Cruise Terminal, it is surprising that neither Judi or I have previously visited the ship. Well, our first visit to this grand old lady was more than a stroll around the decks, as we enjoyed an exceptional Champagne Brunch.

After a fairly short, but definitely interesting drive from Indio, we arrived in Anaheim, just as the sun was setting. We have 2 options for condos in Anaheim, both less than a mile from Disney – Worldmark Indio and Dolphin’s Cove. On a previous visit we stayed at the Worldmark, so this time we tried Dolphin’s Cove, which is a Wyndham resort.

We have visited Disney Resorts, both in Anaheim and Orlando, many times and have no doubt we will be returning with grandkids in the future. Therefore, it was rather easy to give the most obvious Anaheim attractions a miss. But, what else does this area offer??

As we arrived at our Worldmark Condo in Indio, the storm front that had dumped many inches of rain over the previous few days, had moved through, leaving clear blue skies and that big, round, yellow ball. It’s been so long since we had seen the sun, we almost forgot what it is called.

We only have a few days in Indio, but they will be busy meeting friends, visiting The Living Desert and we might even find time to sample the wares of at least 1 craft brewery.